On Friday 1 March, the euro area Finance Ministers agreed with the European Commission’s assessment, which highlights the risk that Slovakia’s updated draft budgetary plan will not comply with the EU Council’s budgetary recommendations of July 2023.
In a press release, the Eurogroup therefore invites Bratislava to consider “in a timely manner and as necessary” to take action to address the risks identified by the Commission in order to bring its plan into line.
It welcomes Slovakia’s commitment to ensuring the necessary follow-up, including during the implementation of its 2024 budget.
Bratislava presented its updated draft budgetary plan (DBP) for 2024 on 12 December 2023, adopted it on the following 21 December and the European Commission published an opinion on the DBP on 16 January 2024. In its press release, the Eurogroup points out that the Two Pack Code of Conduct requires Member States to submit their project plans “well in advance” of the approval of the envisaged budget by the national parliament in order to allow the Commission to issue an opinion and the Eurogroup to have a discussion on this basis before the budget is adopted, which was not the case for Slovakia. “We recall the importance of adhering to the Two Pack Code of Conduct”, insist the members of the Eurogroup.
The Eurogroup also recalls the Commission’s intentions regarding the deficit-based Excessive Deficit Procedures. “In line with our December statement on the DBPs, we encourage Slovakia and other Member States with deficits above 3% of GDP to take the necessary measures”, the members added.
See the Eurogroup press release: https://aeur.eu/f/b3y (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)